At home with… Katherine Sabbath

Professional baker, Newtowner and former history teacher, Katherine Sabbath has returned a sense of wonder and whimsy to Sydney with her ingenious cake creations.

What prompted you to first start baking?I developed my wild sugar lust at a very young age! As soon as I could be trusted with an electric beater, I would attempt a baking project. Triple chocolate brownies are where it all started for me. I could never find a chocolate brownie decadent or gooey enough, so I made my own deliciously rich monstrosities and I suppose, the rest is history!

Your cakes are delightfully whacky. How do you keep your creative juices flowing?For me, inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere! A favourite source of inspiration close to my heart is the 1971 film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory originally written by Roald Dahl and directed by Mel Stuart. I remember seeing that movie at a very young age and just being completely blown away by the fun and exciting possibilities of dessert!

What do you like eating in terms of savoury foods?I’m an absolute sucker for a hefty cheese and antipasto platter! Besides this, I love modern Australian, Turkish and Japanese cuisine. I also thoroughly enjoy roasted veggies! And if I eat my veggies, it means I can have my cake too, right?

You are an Instagram god. Do you have any tips for people trying to share their passions on social media?Oh shucks, thank you! Instagram and social media truly is a wonderful phenomenon and has provided me with some priceless opportunities. I try to not take ‘playing the game’ too seriously though, because my love for baking stems from wanting to share these simple pleasures with other people, which is also what I try to achieve with my Instagram. I would suggest any budding Instagrammers focus on sharing honest content with a genuine and positive voice, rather than posting content for ‘likes’.

What was the best setting one of your cakes has been enjoyed in?My Year 7 History classroom during our end-of-term class parties. I loved sharing cakes with my students after a term or a year’s worth of hard team work! My lovely students were my biggest supporters when it came to my home baking.

Method

1. First, line the bottom of an 7-inch spring-form tin with baking paper and lightly grease the sides. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients for the base and whiz until bread crumb-sized and the mixture begins sticking together. Press into bottom of tin and place in fridge.

2. Using an electric kitchen mixer, beat together yoghurt, cream cheese, vanilla, passionfruit, lemon juice, sugar and gelatin mixture until creamy. Pour on your base and set in fridge for at least 4 hours.

3. Only when fully set, carefully release your heavenly cheesecake from the tin (a warm knife will help if it’s a little stuck). Adorn with fresh, plump raspberries and a generous dusting of icing sugar.